In order to improve the user experience, Douyin is constantly fixing bugs for the problems in the product itself. For example, the updates of 3D shaking watermarks, stickers, cool props, beauty, panoramic cameras, AR cameras, hair dyeing effects and dance machines have created cooler video gameplay for users.
As a music short video community, if it only has the attributes of being cool and fun, it is actually very easy to be replaced by other products, and social networking (especially social networking among acquaintances) can solve this problem well. Because the social relationship of acquaintances can give users a better sense of belonging and identity, it can better “stick” to users and increase their frequency of use. Therefore, Douyin’s product positioning has gradually changed from the initial “focusing on the new generation of music short video community” to “15-second music short video social tool.”
In order to expand brand awareness, Douyin has also spent a lot of money on advertising. In June 2017, the first TVC advertisement was launched, which was cool and eye-catching; it cooperated with many popular variety shows such as “I Want to Sing with You”, “High Energy Youth League” and “China Has Hip-Hop”, and also landed on “Happy Camp” and “Day Day Up”, winning the attention of a large number of young people.
In addition, its own online and offline operations such as “Million Heroes” and “Douyin iDou Night” also attracted a large number of new and old users. Simply put, in the development stage, Douyin spent a lot of money, invited the most popular stars, participated in the most popular programs, and held the coolest activities. After the number of users accumulated to a certain level, it slowly began to realize the monetization of traffic through joint promotion by enterprises.
In general, Douyin has been making full efforts from iteration to operation at this stage, and the user activity has been significantly improved. There are three main factors for its rapid growth.
(1) Fast iterative development model. The overall iterative updates of Douyin are actually very intensive, and the problems raised by users can always be solved quickly. In addition, new functions can be continuously launched based on the actual development situation and the real needs of users.
(2) Differentiated competition with strong opponents. At this stage, the leader of short videos is Kuaishou, and Douyin chose a different attitude from Kuaishou to enter the short video market and the centralization of content, avoiding the edge of mature products without violating its product positioning. The correct attitude of entry allowed Douyin to develop rapidly.
(3) Precise and powerful product operation plan. Douyin dares to sponsor various variety shows and TV Spring Festival Galas, introduce first-line celebrities to join, and organize various cool and trendy online and offline activities. Its only purpose is to attract users – young people who love to play. Douyin targets the high-density gathering places of this group of target users, grasps the inner pain points of this group of young people, and carries out a large number of precise operations. It can be said that it has really put its huge investment to good use.